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#1
06-28-2011, 01:21 PM
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WDW the week of Christmas
Have any of you been to WDW the week of Christmas? We will be going with my parents and my brothers family 12/21 - 12/28. Im super nervous about the crowds. I did join TGM and am reading on the Disboards too. We are staying off site and are not doing a dining plan. I feel like my head is going to explode trying to plan this trip.
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#2
06-28-2011, 01:23 PM
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Not the week of Christmas but the week after..I think the crowds were leaving as we were getting there so I can't help with that, but I can say that Disney World at Christmas Time is gorgeous and so much fun!
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#3
06-28-2011, 01:25 PM
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I work for Disney (not on site) and that is the second busiest week secondary to the week of thanksiving.
But go for it, it's a hugely fun time there.
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#4
06-28-2011, 01:32 PM
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It is gorgeous that time of year and they have special performances by choirs singing christmas songs (and probably other songs as well). My daughter was supposed to do it like two years ago but missed like two practices at her school so she lost her place
 . If she had performed she would have gotten like 2 free passes for every day she performed.
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    Dreaming of creating for Cindy Schneider, Studio Flergs & Kristin Cronin-Barrow
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#6
06-28-2011, 02:54 PM
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Yes and it was WONDERFUL! I would do it again in the heartbeat. Yes it is very crowded, but my only suggestion would be to avoid Magic Kingdom on Christmas day. It was just a mess but I heard the other parks were great. It's so beautiful there and we had a fabulous time! We stayed on site and there were all kinds of special things at the resorts too. You should check with your off site to see if they have something special going on.
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Margaret in NJ
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#7
06-28-2011, 02:56 PM
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I was there about 2 weeks before Christmas... you MUST do the special Christmas parade downtown Disney after the park "closes"... for my hubby and I, that was just awesome!! We would do that again in a heartbeat!
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#8
06-28-2011, 03:10 PM
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We were there the night of the 30th and it was SOOOOOOO crowded.
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#9
06-28-2011, 03:17 PM
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hey we'll be overlapping a few days! We are there til the 24th! Start booking your dining reservations ASAP b/c I've found they are filling up fast I've never been at Christmas so we're really excited!! Do you like TGM? I didn't end up joining it. I'm using touringplans.com and so far really like it! TGM just wasn't updating fast enough for my liking lol (heard he's been slacking that's why I went with something else and it was only $10 lol)
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#10
06-28-2011, 03:21 PM
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It will definitely be crowded, but it will also be beautiful. Looks like you won't have to worry about the park being closed for the Very Merry Christmas party since the last one is the 18th so that's good thing.
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#11
06-28-2011, 04:02 PM
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Im not too sure about TGM.... there is just soo much information that its completely overwhelming. But I did get the least crowded park information from him and will be using that to determine where we will be on certain days. I also know that we are planning on doing US/IOA for 2 days as well.
Im going to check out touringplans.com- thanks for the suggestion. I also dont think we will be making too many dining reservations- we will probably go back to our hotel for lunch and then either eat counter service for dinner or go to a restaurant out of the park. We may do 2 sit down dinners at disney though so I will make those reservations. What are the top 2 dining places everybody recommends? Quote:
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#12
06-28-2011, 04:12 PM
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well depends on the cuisine you want..lots will say Coral Reef or Le Cellier but if you want character or something it'll be diff
how old are your kids? I'll say the dining places i'm lookingmost forward to is the candellight processional pkg @ Garden Grill (if we get it..they aren't on sale yet but I do have garden grill booked in case we don't_) and our 'Ohana breakfast.... yeah I got that same info from Tourplans..and they have an app (free but have to be a member to see the info) with line wait times and such that's updated frequently.
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#13
06-28-2011, 04:15 PM
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Amber, everyone will have different favs on resturants, and I'm sure what was awesome 2 years ago could be different now. That said, my family's favorites were Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian Resort - on monorail from Magic Kingdom-- easily the BEST restaurant) Le Cellier (epcot Canada), Coral Reef (epcot), Whispering Canyon (Wilderness Lodge- easy ferry ride from Magic Kingdom), and Kona Cafe breakfast (Polynesian Resort- on monorail from Magic Kingdom).
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#14
06-28-2011, 04:28 PM
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#15
06-28-2011, 04:49 PM
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There are 10 of us going- 6 adults and 4 kids ages 6, 4, 4, and 2. I think we will do breakfast at our hotel since is complimentary. My parents are paying for this trip for all of us so we are trying to do things on the cheap for the most part.
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#16
06-28-2011, 05:21 PM
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Quote:
 We went during spring break a few years ago (same time as Julie) and even though it was crowded, we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything the whole trip. Best $20 I spent on that trip. I agree his site is overwhelming and the navigation is CRAZY but he really does have a ton of awesome information and I love that he teaches you how to tour rather than just giving you a plan. It made it a lot easier to adjust on the fly. ETA: For dining, we did lunch at Coral Reef and that was really cool. I thought it was going to be really cheesy but it ending up being a really neat experience and the food was delicious. Last edited by Nettio; 06-28-2011 at 05:25 PM.
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#18
06-28-2011, 07:10 PM
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We went this past winter from Jan 2 to 7 and as the crowds were not bad at all. The longest we had to wait was 20 minutes for Small World.
But there were people who were there the week before that told us it was very crowded. As long as you have your meals reserved, a general plan and the knowledge that you will have to wait and might not get to do everything you will have a good time.
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Amanda
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#19
06-28-2011, 07:11 PM
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Amanda
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#20
06-28-2011, 07:52 PM
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#21
06-28-2011, 07:55 PM
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also with 9 people (not counting the 2yr old they are free) you will need 3 value rooms unless you use the suite @ ASM. You might consider Port Orleans Riverside since you can put 5 people in a room..you'd only need 2 rooms
also if free dining is offered you only get quick service with a value and you'd get actual dining (1TS and 1CS plus snacks) with a moderate so in the long run the mod would save y'all $$
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#23
06-28-2011, 08:20 PM
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#24
06-28-2011, 10:27 PM
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So I figured up a very conservative amount of what we would be spending staying off site and then figured out what it would cost staying on site at a moderate resort and dropping from 6 days of tickets to 5 (taking a rest day since the kids are so young and just hanging at the hotel) and it comes out about the same. Looks like we will probably be staying on site at Carribbean Springs or Port Orleans Riverside. Just need to make sure of a couple of things before we get this booked. I want to talk with Kendall since she is a disney vacation planner.
 Hopefully Disney will do free dining for when we are there saving us even more money! WOOT! WOOT!
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#25
06-29-2011, 10:13 AM
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How exciting!
You could also use that extra day off to go to Downtown Disney or visit other resorts to look at decorations. We were in the same situation (one day less tickets) and didn't go to the parks the day we arrived. We went to DD and spent a lot of time at the Lego store.
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Amanda
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#26
06-29-2011, 12:53 PM
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I heard that its really busy then.
We're hopefully going December 2nd to the 12th (maybe longer if I can talk DH into it). It all depends on when Rachel has her surgery & what her doctors say. The last time we talked he said that if she has it in August/September then we'll have no problem but if its in October then it may be a problem. I'm also on the DISboards!
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#27
06-29-2011, 03:13 PM
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oh yes- the lego store is a must for my boys. We are actually considering staying at the Port Orleans French Quarter and can just take the ferry to DTD!
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#28
06-29-2011, 04:04 PM
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French Quarter was just refurbished too I heard it's nice! (had queen beds now instead of doubles)
Are y'all planning on 3 rooms? I think at Riverside you can get away with 2 b/c they have trundles for the kiddos so you can put 5 in a room on a reservation.
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#29
06-29-2011, 06:00 PM
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My mom just made reservations with Disney because she got a PIN code from them! We are staying at the Coronado Springs in preferred rooms with queen beds- 3 seperate rooms. We are cool with that since its 3 seperate families. Her PIN code got her free quick service meal plan which she then upgraded to deluxe and is just paying the difference.
Now to figure out where we want to eat and start trying to make reservations. Im thinking Chef Mickey and Cinderella's Royal Table (for my niece) but not sure what else.
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#30
06-29-2011, 06:27 PM
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We have a room discount but dining for us would be cheaper girl I made my ressies on my 180 day mark haha
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#31
06-29-2011, 06:45 PM
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We should definitely try and meet up! Thats so cool we will be there at the same time in the same resort!
I dont know if we will be able to get ressies or not but it doesnt hurt to try!  We may not do Cinderella's Royal table since it takes 2 credits but we were told 1900 Park Fare does the princesses.
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Last edited by AmberK; 06-29-2011 at 06:59 PM.
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#32
06-29-2011, 06:54 PM
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1900 Park Fare is awesome! We usually do it for breakfast through since they have Alice in Wonderland characters and we usually don't see them in the park often. We're doing a character breakfast at Norway in Epcot to see the princesses.
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#33
06-29-2011, 07:07 PM
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Amanda
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#34
06-29-2011, 07:28 PM
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lots of stuff still open
I just got Coral reef for dinner on SaturdayMary Poppins is @ 1900 Park Fare for Breakfast
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#35
06-29-2011, 07:31 PM
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going to disney seems like more work than planning a wedding.. haha
We aren't planning until the kiddos get older.. I think I will fail without a travel guide for doing a trip like that though
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#36
06-29-2011, 07:55 PM
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We stayed at the Coronado Springs and really loved it. Those queen beds are a big bonus!
1900 park fare was one of my favorite character dinners, we had never met the stepsisters, stepmother and prince charming before (we were there for dinner) and they were awesome! They were all really into character and quite funny!
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#38
06-30-2011, 12:20 AM
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did any of you who have been during a busy time use the extra magic hours? When Im looking at tourguide mike's site he seems to really discourage going to a particular park on the days they have EMH. His site is seriously stressing me out.
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#39
06-30-2011, 12:45 AM
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#41
06-30-2011, 01:46 AM
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I have to say we did dinner at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and it was one of the best meals of my life!
We really enjoyed the princess breakfast at Epcot -- it was lots cheaper than doing it at MK...and my girls thought it was amazing. (It's hosted by Belle.)
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Denise 
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#42
06-30-2011, 07:11 AM
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We avoid Extra Magic Hours. I used easywdw.com to plan out what parks to go to on what days. On the right hand side scroll down until you see December 2011 Crowd Calendar. They go very in depth as to why you should pick one park over the other. I've used them for our last two trips and have found them to be very reliable.
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#43
06-30-2011, 07:48 AM
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#44
06-30-2011, 12:12 PM
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We were sold on our very first day after seeing the HUGE crowd getting on the EMH bus to MK. OMG. I was SO glad we were not on that bus and were instead two of like five getting on the bus to Hollywood Studios. It was like that our entire trip. You could tell which parks had EMH by the size of the crowd waiting for the bus. Avoid them. Seriously. The few extra hours are not worth the extra crowd you'll deal with the whole day.
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#45
06-30-2011, 01:25 PM
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totally agree with the EMH advice..we aren't using them either I did the preferred park schedule on touring plans
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#46
06-30-2011, 03:50 PM
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We did EMH once and that was enough. Now the evening EMH are way different and very worth it to stay for that.
Do try to get a character breakfast (even though it was our least favorite meal) because it is worth it to be the only people in the park and get great photos. We also bought the prepaid photopass and it was the best $99 I have ever spent. The photos the photographer took during my boy's Jedi Training are amazing.
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Amanda
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